As the Spooky Season comes to a close, www.theEventhelper.com would like to take the fright out of knowing who to list as the Named Insured on a policy!
Generally, we can insure one legal entity per policy - there are some notable exceptions, but the general rule is similar to common insurable interests (like a bride and the mother of the bride).
A legal entity is:
a single individual (must be an adult)
a married couple, or legally recognized domestic partnership
a corporate entity; C-Corp, S-Corp, LLC, LTD. Note that the suffixes that follow a business name designate the actual business entity. If you have a company/business/corporation, drill down one level further to include the company’s actual legal name, including the suffix.
a business partnership that has a tax filing/TAX ID #, some are very structured, and followed by LP or LLP
a non-profit. Yes, an actual nonprofit is a "501c" designated corporation. They are in fact considered businesses. While their mission is certainly altruistic, they should be treated like an LLC in this situation- see 'how to' below.
A Legal Entity is not:
a person under 18 (who hasn't been legally emancipated)
a group of people, who don't have a legal entity set up, like a reunion committee, neighborhood group, etc.
a DBA. A trade name is not a legal entity - you cannot sue, find judgment against, or receive payment from a fictitious business name. The legal entity behind that name is the actual entity recognized by the State, IRS, and legally. In every case, there is a legal entity with an SSN or TAX ID # behind a DBA.
How to Build the Named Insured:
Who are we dealing with? Is this a personal rental for a wedding? The named insured is the person who signs the contract. That's who is accepting the exposure by signing the contract, so they should get the benefit of coverage. Then we add, anyone/everyone who has similar insurable interests. That's the fiancée! Parents of the couple!! What it isn't...The Other set of parents!!! The Grooms and Brides parents have a SEPARATE insurable interest - and very realistically could sue each other.
Who are we dealing with? Is this a Company or a commercial entity? Drill down to find the entity. If it is a Corporation, put the actual company name in the business name field and we can add their DBA. Always use c/o before their personal name. Why? Because we aren't insuring the specific individual, we are only insuring the business.
Who are we dealing with? Is it an unincorporated committee/group (like a reunion committee or neighborhood mixer/block party? Whoever signs the rental contract takes on the exposure personally. They go in the First/Last name field. The Group name goes into the Business Name field. Key point, do not use a 'c/o' to list the group as we are insuring the person. The Group gets the benefit of coverage for others only when participating as a member of the group at the event (i.e. setup, cleanup, etc). Otherwise, they are patrons of the event to preserve the BI exposure.
What We Don't Want:
Two separate insureds on one policy that can sue each other (i.e. a member/shareholder of a corporation and the corporation itself)
Two separate individuals that are not operating as a partnership
A renter and a subcontractor/vendor (i.e. The bride and the bartender)
An individual and their Non-profit. It needs to be one or the other. If it is the non-profit, the individual can be designated as the contact person with a 'c/o'
Who to name in the application to become the policyholder can be scary, but rest assured ladies and ghouls, the customer service specialists at www.theeventhelper.com are here to take the fear out of this potential nightmare!
